No regard for Consumer Law

I wanted to buy a light dirt bike and I decided on Puzey, as they are a local firm and their products are well priced. I searched the internet to find a dealer and on the Puzey website I found that they had a dealer in Stellenbosch, Mr. Dale Greenberg. I phoned Mr Greenberg and he indicated that he doesn't have a showroom, only a workshop, so I couldn't view the bike before I would buy it. I decided to proceed with the purchase nonetheless and paid the full purchase price into the account of RAS Safari Guide, which is Mr Greenberg's other business. About two weeks later, I was informed that the bike had arrived in Stellenbosch and that it would be ready for collection that afternoon. When we got there (we live about 80km from Stellenbosch) we were told that the electric start didn't work, probably due to a faulty battery. They weren't able to get the bike running with the kick start mechanism either. So we left empty handed.

Another week later, a battery apparently arrived from their Johannesburg Head Office and I was told that the bike would be ready for collection the following week. At the end of the following week I received this e-mail: "Apologies for not getting back to you yesterday as I am on tour with guests. Our bike trailer will only be available on the weekend. I received feedback that your bike was starting intermittently yesterday. It appears that the regulator may also require replacement. I will resolve this with Jo'burg for you and let you know the outcome."

By that time I had lost my faith both in the service that I was getting from Puzey and in the product itself. It was a brand new bike and twice it couldn't be delivered due to mechanical problems. I informed Mr Greenberg that I'd like to cancel the transaction and demanded a refund, as is my right in terms of the Consumer Protection Act. He informed me that he had paid over the money to Head Office and that they would have to refund him before he could refund me. After numerous calls and e-mails to Puzey in Johannesburg and to Mr Greenberg, I received the following e-mail from Mr. Mike Puzey himself. It was now 5 weeks since I paid for the bike. "The bike was sold to Dale some time ago. He sold it on to you and then told us it had a battery problem so we sent a new battery some time ago. I had no idea the bike was not delivered till recently. The bike is sold with a warrantee so you need not worry it has support, having said that its Dales responsibility to prep the bike and hand it over to you in good condition so I assume now he will simply get the bike started, wash it and hand it to you. This is a new machine and they are reliable so I’m confident there are no product defects and the battery was a minor problem but we did send the new one. Understand as the supplier we will not do a refund for a bike that has no factory defects. We will repair it and support it as we always do, this is how things are normally done. I have told Dale to get the bike running and prepare it to hand over to you so we can get past this situation and frustration for you."

I explained (again) that it was not just a battery problem and that I couldn't trust that any problems would be sorted out under warranty once I had taken ownership of the bike if they weren't even able to fix a new bike. To this day their only response is that the bike is ready for collection. I appointed lawyers who informed them of my rights under the Consumer Protection Act, but they are ignoring that as well. To my shock at this point we also found that Mr Greenberg had been using a third party's address in Stellenbosch and that he didn't even have premises in Stellenbosch, or anywhere else for that matter, so we have not been able to go see him in person.

I am extremely frustrated, because it is four months since I paid for a product that was defective from the start and which I didn't even take delivery of. I took out a loan and have been paying interest. I'll also be responsible for the lawyers bill. Puzey just don't care. It's ridiculous.